This invention relates generally to rain gutters, and more particularly to a method of making a solid edge gutter screen for such gutters.
Since leaves and other debris frequently clog up rain gutters, some kind of guard or screen which prevents leaves from falling into the gutter is desirable. However, cheap conventional gutter screens may become overburdened by such debris and collapse into the gutter, thereby aggravating the problem instead of solving it.
One popular type of gutter screen S (FIG. 9) is designed so that the back edge slides under the shingles and the front edge lies on top of the gutter. This screen has diamond-shaped holes extending transverse to a longitudinal axis of the screen. The long edges LE (the front and back edges) are very sharp due to the orientation of the holes, and the sharp back edge often snags against the shingles, making it hard to install. Also, there is a significant risk the installer will cuts his hands on these sharp edges. Despite these drawbacks, this screen is sold because it is cheap to manufacture, requiring limited manual labor. The screen is formed by feeding a coil of metal into an expanding machine in a continuous process. Some screens eliminate the sharp front edge by covering it with a solid metal bar that is made separate from the screen portion. This metal bar is roll-formed into a Z-shaped cross-section on a roll-former machine. The front edge of the screen is inserted into one of the channels of the Z-shaped cross-section. A pinch roller pinches the channel to fasten the bar and the screen together. The front edge thereby has a solid smooth front edge, and the risk of cutting the installer's hands is reduced or eliminated. However, the back edge is left very sharp and can still snag the shingles.
Another popular screen has what is called a “bonded edge,” meaning that the diamond-shaped openings extend longitudinally, rather than transverse to the screen length. This screen is also produced using an expanding machine, but is produced “by length size”. Importantly, the length size is actually determined by the width of the input coil, rather than input coil length. For example, a 4 foot long screen uses a 4 foot wide coil. If the product design requires a 5 inch wide by 4 foot long section, the expanding machine is set for 5 inches. When the expanded material reaches 5 inches, the machine must stop, the material is then sheared and the expanding machine starts over. The operator stacks the loose sections and moves them to a roll-former to bend or form a desired screen profile. At this secondary roll-former station, the operator manually inserts each piece through the roll-former to produce a finished screen.
This latter screen is more expensive than the first-mentioned screen because of all the manual labor and time required in manufacturing. However, the screen is an improvement over the above-mentioned screen because of the semi-smooth long edges or “bonded edges.” While each bonded edge is irregular in shape due to the diamond holes, it is not a sharp edge. With the smoother long edges, the operator will not cut his hands during installation, and the back edge will not snag on the shingles. Thus, though it is higher priced, the screen is easier to install.
The gutter screen of U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,381 represents one satisfactory solution to the above problems. However, the process of making this gutter screen is also time-consuming and relatively expensive. Moreover, the material required is relatively heavy and expensive.